From his early days of hiding his music and being afraid to perform in front of an audience, Dan Smith and his band, Bastille, have left their mark on the music world. Their most famous song, “Pompeii,” peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2014. It’s hard to believe that it is already five years old. The song and its accompanying music video offer us a chance to take a hard look… Read More →The Rubble or Our Sins?

[Spoiler Alert: This article discusses major plot points from the films Prometheus and Alien: Covenant] What does it mean to be human? There seems to be no better avenue for exploring this question than through the realm of science fiction. Something about artificial intelligence causes us to question who we are. Countless books and movies have explored this theme. One film director who frequently broaches this topic is Ridley Scott. One of Scott’s most famous… Read More →“You will die. I will not.”

When people think of modern rock music, the band Imagine Dragons probably comes to mind. Since 2012 they’ve been releasing music that has been topping the charts. With singles like “Demons,” “I Bet My Life,” “Thunder,” “Believer,” “Whatever it Takes,” and “Radioactive” (which holds the record for the most weeks spent on the Billboard Hot 100), Imagine Dragons has become one of the most popular rock bands of the decade. Part of the appeal of… Read More →Are You a ‘Natural’?

Why do we need to know what we believe? “Studies show that one of the reasons kids disengage the church… is they are not ready with an answer.” — Sean McDowell, Associate Professor, Biola University In this video, Sean McDowell discusses the importance of knowing what we believe, why we believe it, and what we should do about it. This video is part of a series titled “Answers to Your Questions”. These videos answer the… Read More →Video: Why do we need to know what we believe?

British actor Benedict Cumberbatch is a crowd and critic favorite, starring in popular roles such as Marvel’s Doctor Strange, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit trilogy, and Sherlock Holmes in BBC’s extremely popular Sherlock. In 2014, he added another memorable role to his career with his Oscar-nominated portrayal of the troubled genius Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. The film tells the heartrending story of Alan Turing, a British cryptanalyst who… Read More →Turing and Truth

In May of 1980 George Lucas released Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the sequel to his 1977 breakout hit Star Wars. The film is often regarded as the best of the Star Wars films, coming in at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, and ranking as the thirteenth highest-rated movie on IMDB’s top 250. The film contains some of the most memorable and iconic scenes in film history. Among these is the training of Luke… Read More →Pantheism’s Finest Hour

“Am I a communist?” So asks the daughter of legendary screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in the 2015 film, Trumbo. The film is concerned with the events of the 1940s-50s surrounding the Hollywood blacklist. During this controversial period, artists, filmmakers, and screenwriters suspected of having communist affiliations were brought before anti-communist committees. Many were barred from working in their respective industries for having previous ties to the Communist Party. Filmmakers went to other countries to make their… Read More →The Commie Test

The TV show Supernatural, now in its fourteenth season, has a cult following. The show follows the adventures of two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, as they fight supernatural forces of all varieties. The show’s enduring popularity says something about our culture—namely, that the supernatural is still of interest to people. Despite what voices in the New Atheist movement say, many people still think that there is much more to this world than simply matter.… Read More →God and Chuck

John Lennon’s song, “Imagine,” is one of the enduring classics from the 1970s. Lennon was a member of the Beatles and an avid political activist. “Imagine” is an anthem of Secularism and remains extremely popular to this day. In fact, it practically sums up the secular worldview in three minutes. You can listen to a modern version here. Living for Today Imagine there’s no heaven It’s easy if you try No hell below… Read More →Can you imagine?

In 2014 controversy exploded after a confrontation that happened between Batman actor Ben Affleck and philosopher/religious critic Sam Harris on Real Time with Bill Maher. Bill Maher and Sam Harris are both well known atheists famous for their intense criticism of religion. Harris is the author of The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason, which criticizes organized religion as dangerous to humanity and opposed to reason. Harris has not limited his… Read More →It’s Gross! It’s Racist!

The Alfred Hitchcock movie Rope tells the story of two college classmates who murder their “inferior” classmate, inviting their friends over for a party to see if they can successfully hide their crime and demonstrate their own superiority. It’s a strange suspense movie (set entirely in one room) that keeps you on edge the whole time. The film is also a good reminder that “ideas have consequences.” In this scene, the party guests discuss whether… Read More →Strangeling Morality

The movie Gifted tells the story of an intelligent young girl named Mary and her uncle, Frank (Chris Evans of Captain America fame), who serves as her guardian after the death of her mother. The story examines the difficulties of family life, the pain of loss, and the challenges that go along with being a kid. Mary is exceptionally gifted at math and is curious about many things, including God. In this scene, Frank tries… Read More →Faith is about what you feel, not what you know—or is it?